Echinacea SOMBRERO™ ROSE

SOMBRERO™ is a coneflower series bred by American breeder of Chinese origin Jianping Ren from Pan American Seed Company. The plants are renowned for deep flower colours, shorter growth, compact and very bushy habit, and very importantly reliable hardiness down to -34 °C. Plants are distributed in Europe by their Kieft Seeds from the Netherlands.

SOMBRERO™ ROSE is an innovative hybrid coneflower with pink flowers. Pink may sound boring if we know that coneflowers are typically purple-pink but this shade is different. As if it contained white powder, it has a clean and bright pastel shade and most importantly it does not change during blooming and remains clear pink. Flowers are about 6-8 cm across, single, fragrant, and appear atop strong, 40-50 cm tall, deep maroon stems in several flushes from July until late September or October. The discs are cone-shaped, dark maroon with orange tips, and hide plenty of nectar attractive for butterflies, bumble bees, and bees can find a way to get to the dinner table, too. Deadhead spent flowers regularly and feed the plants every two weeks during summer. Leaves are medium green, lanceolate, and may suffer from diseases if grown in wet or compacted soil.

The plant is usually trouble-free and resistant, just be careful if slugs are present in your garden. Since coneflowers emerge quite late, often when slugs are already in their lethal strength, they could gobble up newly emerging foliage totally and thus destroy the plant before it even comes out.

Coneflower will tolerate almost any soil type but boggy. It is a prairie plant which suggests that it loves plenty of sun and heat and dislikes excess watering. Still, keep it slightly moist in the first year after transplanting, even before and perhaps during winter (if too dry) to help it establish well. From the second year it rarely requires other irrigation than rain. It is suitable for mixed perennial borders or can be used as a flowering feature among low shrubs and conifers and looks lovely when planted in a mass in a container on patios and balconies. Fully hardy to about -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 15-09-2023